On Mooney today...

Derek talks to the Irish champion surfer who has been hospitalised after being bitten by a venomous Black Widow Spider. We'll find out about how the power of the internet helped an American find his Irish great-great grandmother's house in less than 24 hours. And we tell you how you can enter our competition for tickets to the Mooney Eurovision Green Room Party at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on May 10th!

Eurovision Green Room Party

Join Mooney in our Eurovision Green Room at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on Saturday, May 10th 2014. The party takes place in the Circle Club.

If you want to be there, all you have to do is tell us in not more than forty words why you and a friend or friends LOVE the Eurovision. All entrants/attendees must be over 18. If you are lucky enough to receive a golden invitation to our EUROVISION GREEN ROOM you will get to see all the action as it happens live from Copenhagen.

Surfer Bitten By Venomous Black Widow Spider

Did you know that in August of this year, Spiderman officially turns 62 years of age! The original character first appeared in issue number 15 of the Amazing Fantasy series of comics, created and published by Marvel Comics. That was in August 1962.

Behind the blue and red spider suit was a teenage high school student called Peter Parker, who gained his superpowers when he was bitten by a radioactive spider at a science exhibition.

Well, that's the world of fantasy. In real life, getting bitten by a spider is, generally speaking, a relatively harmless experience.

Unless the spider happens to be a black widow! And your body, for whatever reason, fails to fight off the venom.

A black widow spider

We are joined on the line today by Craig Butler from Waterford (pictured), who was recently bitten by a black widow spider. Unfortunately, he didn't come out the far end with any superpowers; quite the opposite, in fact. The bite landed him in hospital! He's just been discharged and is now recovering from a very traumatic experience, as he tells Derek...

Search For A Special House

We have a very nice story for you now with a happy ending. On Monday, an American arrived in Ireland with a photograph taken in 1920, when his great, great grandmother was on a visit back to Ireland from the USA.

He wanted to find the house in the photo, but was a little vague about where it was. Now Ireland is a little bit smaller than the USA, but it's still a little bit ambitious!!

We decided to investigate this story a little bit further, so in our Cork studio we are joined by Tom Decker, American policeman and chef. And to take us through the incredible tale of how the house was found, we are joined on the line from New York by the name of Paul Egan...

Mooney's Search For A Child Star!

Here on Mooney, we are trawling the country for talented children who are confident performers – to find Ireland’s next child star. The competition is open to boys AND girls – as long as you're 10 years old or under. To enter all you have to do is record a piece that's no more than three minutes long, tell us where you're from and how old you are - and entries must come in to us via parents or guardians.

You can record it on your iPhone, smart phone, computer, or in a studio – whichever is available to you.

Then e-mail your entry to mooney@rte.ie, putting "SEARCH FOR A CHILD STAR" in the subject field.

Remember, the competition is open to children 10 years old or under. Tell us where you're from and give us a phone number so that we can get in touch with you! Make sure you have the consent of your parent or guardian.

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Hedgerows: It is an offence to 'cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy hedgerows on uncultivated land during the nesting season from 1 March to 31 August, subject to certain exceptions'. For more information, click here.

UPDATE: February 29th 2016 - Press Release From BirdWatch Ireland:

Putting the record straight: Dates for burning and hedge-cutting have NOT changed

BirdWatch Ireland, Ireland’s largest conservation charity, is very concerned about misinformation that is currently circulating regarding the dates within which the burning of vegetation and cutting of hedges is permitted. It would like to remind landowners that all burning and cutting must cease on 29th February this year and that burning and cutting remains prohibited from 1st March to 31st August.

Despite attempts by the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Heather Humphreys T.D., to change the laws regulating these dates by introducing the Heritage Bill 2016 earlier this year, it is important to note that the proposed date changes were ultimately NOT made. This is because the bill failed to pass through both houses of the Oireachtas before the recent dissolution of the Dáil in advance of the general election.

The laws in place governing the dates for hedge-cutting and upland burning therefore remain unchanged. The period within which cutting and burning is prohibited are set down in Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976 (as amended in 2000), which states that:

(a) It shall be an offence for a person to cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy, during the period beginning on the 1st day of March and ending on the 31st day of August in any year, any vegetation growing on any land not then cultivated.
(b) It shall be an offence for a person to cut, grub, burn or otherwise destroy any vegetation growing in any hedge or ditch during the period mentioned in paragraph (a) of this subsection (above).

The existing law provides exemptions for road safety and other circumstances and should be read carefully to ensure compliance.

Section 40 of the Wildlife Act exists to protect nesting birds. Many of our upland bird species are in decline and are in danger of extinction in Ireland; amongst them is the Curlew, which has declined by 80%. Many birds which nest in hedgerows into August are also in serious decline, including the endangered Yellowhammer. The changes to the cutting and burning dates which had been proposed in the now-defunct Heritage Bill 2016 would have caused serious impacts to these birds. A petition launched by BirdWatch Ireland in conjunction with several other national conservation organisations to stop these changes attracted more than 16,200 signatures and rising.

BirdWatch Ireland would also like to advise members of the public that if they see hedges being cut or fires in the uplands on or after 1st March, such activity could be illegal. In such cases, we would encourage people to contact the National Parks and Wildlife Service (www.npws.ie) to report such activity.

BirdWatch Ireland warmly welcomes the demise of the Heritage Bill 2016 and sincerely hopes that any future administration will consider the importance of Ireland’s natural heritage and will not attempt to reintroduce such a flawed and damaging piece of legislation.

RTÉ.ie is the website of Raidió Teilifís Éireann, Ireland's National Public Service Broadcaster.RTÉ is not responsible for the content of external internet sites. Images courtesy of Inpho.ie and Getty Images.